


Slow Moving Change

by Sundrangea



Category: The Rookie (TV 2018)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-20
Updated: 2020-03-20
Packaged: 2021-02-28 21:14:42
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,216
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23223847
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sundrangea/pseuds/Sundrangea
Summary: Tim's feelings about Chen are changing. He doesn't want to talk about it.
Relationships: Tim Bradford/Lucy Chen
Comments: 10
Kudos: 147





	Slow Moving Change

**Author's Note:**

> Let me know what you think

Tim Bradford had a code. The law was the law, you could bend it, maneuver it, or look for a loophole, but in the end, you must bow to it. And to his boots, he was the law. He held their lives in his hand and better for him to prepare them than to coddle them. Every time he looked the other way, allowed anything less than perfection, it was to their detriment. Men in Afghanistan and Isabel were proof that allowing mercy was not the correct method. Hell, he has washed out 11 rookies during his period of a T.O. Better him than a bullet. Tim could handle their hatred and their resentful respect; he could not handle their deaths as a result of him not doing enough. He had enough blood on his hands, he would not allow any more.

That led to his current problem. His boot. Chen. Lucy. She was just as loyal and determined as he, but life had not broken her into a hardened shell. She showed compassion and understanding. She fought to protect those she loved, and her compassion was one of her greatest assets. She was impulsive and analytical, always looking to please and shine. Lucy Chen went through something horrific, but she survived. He knew that if she had died, it would have nearly destroyed him. For a long time, he thought his feelings were just that, one of a commanding officer and teacher.

But they weren’t.

He did not realize it at first. For the first six months, with Isabel, she had become someone who knew his secret. She reminded him of who he was and the duty he had to fulfill. She wormed her way into his confidence. She was the first rookie to see his vulnerability, his fears. He felt there were moments that she could see right through him. She was eager to learn, and she wanted to be the best she could be. He admired her drive, her determination. She second guessed herself too much, but when the moment counted, she did the right thing. But with everything, including the way she helped him with the exam, the way she called him king of subversive tests, she was becoming a friend.

And then she was taken. Tim knew that would haunt him for the rest of his life. He had a responsibility towards her, and he failed. It did not matter if everyone said he bore no culpability in it, he knew himself better. He should have been better, and she bore the scars as a result. He was man enough to admit his faults. That is why he had no issue letting her go with Harper. He did not think that he could provide the words of wisdom to aid her, but in the end, he spoke truth. The day she was buried was one that she would never fully recover from, but it would show her and the world that she could endure anything. She had been molded and turned into steel. He stood by that. She was his friend.

They had been doing well, building on a partnership. It had been great. She had given him her dog. That had been where it had started to go downhill. She came over, multiple times, to play with Kojo, to bring him sweets and toys. She would rub his belly and that dumb dog fell more and more in love with her. In this relaxed setting, they would watch football or take Kojo running around the park. It was innocent, truly it was.

Until it wasn’t.

It was all Kojo’s fault. They had gone for a hike, and he invited Lucy to come along. While they were out, Kujo had gotten stung by a bee. Tim had held him while Lucy removed the stinger. As she comforted Kojo, he could not help but be taken aback by how beautiful she was. She cared about everyone and just seemed so light. In his world of extremes and absolution, Lucy had become something good. He was speechless and did not know how to react. She sat in the passenger seat of his truck, holding that dang dog as he drove them home. He had gotten ice for Kojo, but Kojo wanted to cuddle with them both. It was the closest he had ever been to her.

He wouldn’t do anything. To do anything while she was a rookie would be career suicide for both of them. She deserved more than that. 

He could not deny though, that he wasn’t tempted when she smiled at him. It would have been so easy to move a few inches and kiss her. He could see himself weaving his hands through her hair and her falling asleep on him. He wondered what it would be like to take her hand and walk down the street and what it would be like to take her to bed and then to wake up together.

He kept it at bay as best that he could. He was the able to compartmentalize, Training Officer and Tim. Tim could like Lucy, but Officer Bradford could not like Officer Chen. It was that simple. He started to act like asshole Bradford around her and she was not willing to endure that again. He sent her to go work with Harper for a day, and he took Nolan. The next day, he switch her and West. Then he gave her to another cop. When asked why, he said she needed to see what other cops were like. He tried to pass it off as a part of her training, but she saw right through that.

That night, he was watching the game when he heard a knock on the door. It was Lucy. She didn’t wait for an invitation to come in.

“I told Nolan when I first became your rookie, that you were calculating but not cruel. The past few weeks you have been cruel. Why?”

He bluffed, “Like I said, it is good for you to see what other cops are like.”

“I don’t want to be like other cops, I want to be like you." She shouldn't want to be. She would be better. But she continued, exasperated, "Whatever issues you have, you need to get over them"

“Chen,” he stared.

“No, you listen. If you wanted to be rid of me, you should have taken the job. But you didn’t. You didn’t because of me. So, what changed, Tim?” She looked at him pleadingly, as if she was about to cry. “What did I do?”

He wanted to go to her, to comfort her, but he couldn’t. So he sat on his coach and pressed his hands together, like they had been in the hospital. It was his way to make sure that he wouldn’t do anything that he could not take back. Looking down at his hands, he mumbled, “You didn’t do anything wrong, Lucy.”

“Then what is going on?”

“I can’t tell you.”

“Is it about Isabel? Did something happen?”

“No, it isn’t about Isabel.” He still refused to look at her.

“What about Rachel? I know it must be awkward now that you broke up, but we don’t talk about you.”" 

“It’s not about her either.” She did not get it. How clueless could this girl be? She truly did not see it. He supposed he should have taken that as a blessing, but it felt like a heavy curse. 

“Tim, look at me,” she implored.

He looked at her and all of his plans fell to the wayside. He looked at her as Tim. There was no hiding his feelings, not from her.

She started to stutter and looked away, “Are you saying that this is because you”,

Tim abruptly interrupted her, “Lucy, stop. We cannot have this conversation while you are my boot. I,” he breathed in sharply and stood up, “will not have this conversation with you while I am in a position of power.” She stared at him, and he knew he had given her the power to destroy him. She had just seen through all of his bullshit and he had no defense. All he could ask for was that she drop it. He hoped his words were enough.

He walked to the door and opened it. “I think it is best that you leave now.”

Lucy hadn’t moved. Her face went from ashen to anger in a split second. “No, you don’t get to do that. You think I wanted to have this conversation?”

“You were the one who showed up at my door.” He pointed out.

“I can’t be that officer. I don’t want to be that girl, the one who people assume slept her way through her probationary year. I do not want to be branded like that.” Her breath hitched at the word brand. “I’ve been through enough; I can’t give anyone a reason to think I can’t do my job.”

He nodded, “I know. I can get you assigned to another officer. My actions have not been respectable.”

“If you do that, people will assume we’ve already been sleeping together.”

“Or they will think that you deserved a better T.O.”

“We both know that isn’t going to happen.”

He was defeated. He didn’t know what else to say. “What do you want? I’ll do whatever you want Lucy.” And that was the truth. He was putty in her hand. All she had to do was ask and he would deliver.

She paced back and forth; the front door still opened. Kojo was still asleep on the couch, but he wouldn’t be much longer if they kept talking. She noticed him and stopped pacing, looking at Tim for a long moment.

“You really would do whatever I asked.” It wasn’t a question.

He could not verbally respond.

“Alright,” She said, pushing her fingers through her hair. “Alright,” she repeated. “Here is what I want. I want you to keep being my training officer. I want you to be the same disciplinarian that you’ve always been. You cannot give anyone any reason to think that I got preferential treatment.”

“I won’t go easy on you.” He promised.

“And then,” she breathed out, “in three months, when I finish, you are going to take the first sergeant job that is offered to you. As long as it is a good fit,” she added. “I don’t want to send you to the worst police precinct in LA.”

“Very caring of you,” he replied. He wasn’t sure where she was going with this, but he was helpless to stop her.

“And when you move, you are going to take me out to dinner. A rookie saying goodbye to her TO won’t raise any red flags.”

“Really?” Something akin to hope started to flutter in his chest. He smiled and she returned it. She walked up to him and squeezed his hand.

“And if you want, we can start the conversation that neither of us can have right now. I can tell you things that I've been thinking for months.” For a moment, the confident girl was gone, and it looked like she was second guessing herself again, “If that is what you want,” she started as she let go of his hand.

He took her hand gently and held it as if she were the most precious thing in the world. “Only if it is what you want.”

“It could be a few months.” She breathed.

“I’d wait a whole lot longer, if you wanted.” He let go of her hand. If she didn’t leave now, he would not be able to hold himself back. “You should go then.”

She nodded and stepped away from him. They both looked anywhere other then each other, as if they were nervous middle schoolers at their first dance. How awkward they would seem to anyone passing by. “Goodnight Tim. We’ll pencil that dinner in.” She started to walk away.

Tim was not willing to let her have the last word, “Hey boot,” he called. She turned, looking beautiful but maintaining proper distance. “For bugging me at home, you’re doing 50 burpees tomorrow.”

“Sir, with all due respect, you’re a pain in my ass.” She said the words that had first shown her personality months earlier. But this time, there was a different meaning behind it.

“And you wouldn’t have it any other way.” He reacted accordingly. 

She waved at him and then got in her car. Tim watched as she drove away. What an interesting night, but he felt so light. The weight that he felt around her was gone. They were both going to be disciplined and neither were going to anything to disturb the balance between them. When the time was right, they would have their shot. Until then, he would remain her protector and it adhered to the code that he had for himself. The law was the law. He would not do anything until the moment was right. And for the first time (in a while) with his personal life, he felt a semblance of hope, that his life that had been so long on the back-burner was moving forward. He couldn’t wait to see how it turned out.


End file.
